Coronavirus Update
Coronavirus Update
Coronavirus Update
Dear Parent/Carer,
By way of an update regarding the approach of the school to Coronavirus, please note the following:
What we are doing to protect and support students and staff
- Within school we will promote good hygiene practice with daily reminders to all students being given about hand-washing and using tissues:
- Frequent hand washing of the hands including the nails.
- If sneezing, blow into a handkerchief or disposable tissue then wash your hands again.
Further resources regarding hygiene can be found by clicking the links below:
- There are hand sanitizers in public areas for the use of students, staff and visitors
- We are deep cleaning and disinfecting the school over the coming weeks and have intensified our daily cleaning schedule
- Pupils will no longer be gather for year group assemblies
- Where possible, the gathering together of the whole staff team will cease
- Sporting fixtures have been suspended
- Only essential meetings with outside agencies will be allowed to continue with anyone visiting site being asked whether they have experienced any symptoms of Coronavirus before allowed on site and also being asked to wash their hands on entry
- We are speaking to all students about how we will set work in the event of a change to government policy on school and college openings
The school will, of course, monitor the potential symptoms within the pupil and staff populations and take the appropriate action.
Parents/Carers should note though that we are still in the winter season where viruses are common, with the symptoms of Coronavirus being very similar to those of a heavy cold/flu.
Trips
If your child/children were due to travel on the forthcoming trips to Sicily and France, please note the following:
The Government advised yesterday, that schools and colleges should cancel overseas trips. This was based on guidance from the DfE and has been advised as a safeguarding measure to address the specific challenges organisers of trips for under 18s would face should adult supervisors or children exhibit symptoms that require self-isolation, or where measures taken by foreign countries to control coronavirus change rapidly.
The advice does not apply to trips planned within the UK.
This will mean that both the forthcoming trip to Sicily and France will be postponed until later in the year, confirmed dates will communicated to you in the coming weeks, however provisional dates are:
Sicily – 12/06/20 to 15/06/20
France – 14/05/20 to 18/05/20
Can I apologise for the disappointment this may cause your child/children and reassure you that we are, as ever, committed to ensuring the safety of our students and staff and will take all practicable precautions and act on any reasonable advice issued by the Department for Education, Public Health England and the Foreign Office.
Exams
We have had no formal information to suggest that anything will be changing in relation to this summer’s GCSE and A-Level exams, therefore we are continuing to prepare our students for the exams as they are scheduled for April to June.
Students with Underlying Health Conditions
We are acutely aware of the potentially more significant impact that Coronavirus could have on those with an underlying health conditions and are not only taking advice from Public Health England and the Department for Education but relevant organisations such as Asthma UK (https://www.asthma.org.uk/advice/triggers/coronavirus-covid-19/) and Diabetes UK (https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news/coronavirus).
We will be meeting with all students who have an underlying health condition to advise them of the extra precautions they need to take, however if you would like to speak to a member of staff about the specific needs of your child then please do not hesitate to contact us.
It is not, at present necessary to keep your child off school unless they fall into one of the following categories:
- people who have received an organ transplant and remain on ongoing immunosuppression medication
- people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radiotherapy
- people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia who are at any stage of treatment
- people with severe chest conditions such as cystic fibrosis or severe asthma (requiring hospital admissions or courses of steroid tablets)
- people with severe diseases of body systems, such as severe kidney disease (dialysis)
If your child does fall into one of the categories above, please contact the school as soon as possible.
Please rest assured that, as always, pupil and staff safety at the school is of paramount importance and should any updated advice be received, we will issue this to you via our website.
Rob Owens
Chief Operating Officer